Why this card is awesome: Because, boy oh boy, is Tim Raines underappreciated. Look at all the slanty text on the back of the card. This guy was an awesome ballplayer. This photo is another one of the Expos taken at Shea Stadium.
Raines' son played big-league ball too. His name was, uhh, Tim Raines. They both played for the Orioles in 2001.
Cool stat: Check out all the guys who have more CS than Raines but fewer SB. Raines was a better base stealer than everybody from #5 on down. And his career SB% (84%) is higher than Brock's (75%) and Henderson's (80%). Ty Cobb's career totals are inaccurate because CS were not recorded for many of the years he played. A pretty good argument can be made that Raines was the best base stealer of all time.
In his first year of eligibility, Raines did not make the HOF, but he had a strong showing and will probably make it. I, for one, am all in favor of that.
The first person to criticize Raines for the cocaine thing get banned from the blog. He admitted his mistakes publicly and took all necessary steps to correct them. He screwed up and took full responsibility, which is more than can be said for most people these days.
4 comments:
Tim Raines changed a lot of games because he could hit for average, he had good gap power when he needed it, he would take a walk, he didn't strike out much and he was like Warren Wallace from the Geico commercials ("I'd be standing there and then the other guys would say, 'Hey, where's Tim? He was just here.' Son, I'm 100 miles away.")
How'd he get the nickname "Rock"?
Here's what he says about his nickname:
http://raines30.com/c83.shtml
Anyway, I've been here four years and played three different positions -- second, left and center. Second isn't my position, though. There was no way I could catch a ground ball hit right at me. I guess that's how I got the nickname Rock. I got it my rookie year -- they say because of my hands, but I like to think it's more because I'm short [5' 8"] and stocky [177 pounds]. You know, built like a little rock.
I always believed the picture from this card was taken on the day he came back from the collusion "suspension". From wiki:
On May 1, 1987, hours after being permitted to negotiate again with Montreal, Raines signed a new deal with the Expos for $5,000,000 over three years, and a $900,000 signing bonus.[14] In his first game back on May 2, facing the Mets, although Raines had not participated in spring training or any other competitive preparation for the season, he hit the first pitch he saw off the right-field wall for a triple. Raines finished the game with four hits in five at-bats, three runs, one walk, a stolen base, and a game-winning grand slam in the 10th inning.
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